Georgia paying millions for smaller football teams to visit in 2018

ATHENS — The Georgia football team’s home non-conference schedule may not be anything special next year, but the school is paying a lot for it to happen.

Middle Tennessee State will receive $1.7 million in exchange for playing at Georgia on Sept. 15, 2018, according to a game contract released by UGA on Wednesday. That’s among the highest guarantees that Georgia has ever paid, but not the most. (Arkansas State is getting $1.8 million to come in 2019.)

Austin Peay, which will serve as Georgia’s 2018 season opener on Sept. 1, will receive a guarantee of $500,000.

UMass is also visiting next year, in a deal announced last year, which will pay that school $1.5 million for the game. As part of that deal, Georgia’s basketball team will visit UMass this upcoming season, with the Minutemen coming to Stegeman Coliseum during the 2018-19 season.

Georgia Tech also visits Sanford Stadium next year, as part of the annual rivalry.

Georgia announced the scheduling of those non-conference home games on Tuesday, via its own web site. It released the game contracts a day later, on an open records request that was made on Jan. 19.